The two victims who perished as an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crashed and burst into flames as it came to land at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday morning have been identified as Chinese schoolgirls who were on a class trip.

The bodies of Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, both 16, were found on the runway after the tail of the plane, which was flying from Seoul in South Korea with 307 people on board, was ripped off as the aircraft hit the approach area of the runway as it came in for landing shortly before 11.30am PDT.

The girls, who were identified by Chinese state media on Sunday, were part of a group of 29 students and five teachers who had set off from Jiangshan Middle School - a highly competitive school in Zhejiang in eastern China. They were all seated near the back of the plane.

Remarkably, the remaining 305 people on board survived but more than 180 people suffered injuries after the plane turned into a fireball.

As an investigation continues into what
caused the crash, details of the passengers' terrifying ordeal have started to emerge. They have described how police officers threw utility
knives up to crew members inside the burning wreckage so they could cut
away passengers' seat belts.

Horrifying pictures taken by survivors immediately after the crash showed passengers jumping down emergency slides and hurrying away. Thick smoke then billowed from the fuselage, and TV footage later showed the aircraft gutted and blackened by fire, with much of its roof gone.

While many of the passengers managed to escape the plane using the emergency exit slides, some survivors were also seen in the water just off the
runway.

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Heartbroken: The parents of Wang Linjia, center, are comforted by parents of some other students who were on the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crashed at San Francisco International Airport, at Jiangshan Middle School in eastern China on Sunday. She lost her life with another teenage student on Saturday

Horror: This picture was tweeted by Samsung executive David Eun who survived the crash. Two girls lost their lives after the tail was ripped off

This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport

Tail snapped off: The plane that was carrying 291 passengers is missing its tail section

A fire gutted the aircraft cabin after the tail snapped off the plane on landing. The Boeing 777 skidded along the runway

Disaster: It is not known what caused the crash but eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane come down tail-first before the runway

‘Some passengers were observed coming out
of water - the assumption is that they maybe doused themselves, said
Joanne Hayes-White, San Francisco’s fire chief.

Local hospitals treated 182
passengers with at least six people said to be in a
critical condition. Around 49 are in a serious condition while 123
passengers sustained injuries in the crash.

There was no immediate indication of the cause of the accident and National Transportation Safety Board
investigators arrived at the airport around midnight to
begin the inquiry into what had caused the accident.

Investigators took the flight data recorder to Washington, D.C., overnight to begin examining its contents for clues to the last moments of the flight, officials said. They also plan to interview the pilots, the crew and passengers.

While authorities have said very little about the investigation at this early stage, clues have emerged in witness accounts of the planes approach and video of the wreckage, leading one aviation expert to say the aircraft may have approached the runway too low.

Mike Barr, a former military pilot and accident investigator who teaches aviation safety at the University of Southern California, said it appeared that something on the plane in its low approach may have caught the runway lip - the seawall at the foot of the runway.

Probe: NTSB's Greg Smith is pictured with the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the Asiana flight in Washington D.C.

Questions: NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman (front) and Investigator-in-Charge Bill English look at interior damage to Asiana Airlines Flight 214, at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday

Investigation: NTSB investigators conducting their first site assessment of Flight Asiana 214. The probe could take months, officials have said

HORROR IN THE SKIES: DEADLIEST U.S. PLANE CRASHES SINCE 2001

12 February 2009: Colgan Air Dash 8 Q-400; near Buffalo, NY: The aircraft crashed in a residential area, killing al 44 passengers and four crew members, along with one person on the ground.

27 August 2006: Comair CRJ-100; Lexington, KY: The aircraft was on a domestic flight from Lexington, KY to Atlanta, GA. The aircraft crashed after takeoff, killing two of the three crew members and all 47 passengers.

19 December 2005: Chalk's Ocean Airways Grumman G-73T Mallard; Miami, FL: The aircraft flying from Miami to the island of Bimini experienced a structural failure. The jet crashed into Biscayne Bay, killing both crew members and all 18 passengers.

8 January 2003: US Airways Express Beech 1900; Charlotte, NC:The aircraft crashed into a maintenance hanger at the airport, killing both pilots and all 19 passengers.

12 November 2001: American Airlines A300; Queens, New York: The aircraft was on a flight from New York to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic when it crashed into a residential neighborhood just outside JFK airport, killing five people on the ground, all nine crew members and 251 passengers, including five infants.

Investigators are also looking into
what role the shutdown of a key navigational aid may have played in the
crash. The glide slope - a ground-based aid that helps pilots stay on
course while landing - had been shut down by the airport since June.

Asiana Airlines said it did not
appear that the crash had been caused by mechanical failure although it
declined to blame either the pilot or an error by the control tower.

In a bizarre twist, passenger Lee Jang Hyung told ABC NewsSaturday
night that after the plane had come to a stop following the violent
crash, a voice came over the intercom informing the terrified passengers
that Flight 214 had landed safely and everyone should remain in their
seats.

San
Francisco Fire Department Chief Hayes-White said during a press
conference Saturday evening that 190 people used emergency slides and
walked away from the wreck. During a late-night press conference, the
chief announced that all passengers have now been accounted for.

Of
the 190 people who left the wrecked plane to safety, 182 have been
transported to hospitals in San Francisco and San Mateo counties with
injuries ranging from abrasions to fractures, burns and spinal
injuries.

According
to Asiana Airlines, 141 of the passengers aboard Flight 214 are Chinese,
77 are South Korean, 61 are American and one is Japanese.

‘Our
thoughts and prayers are with passengers. We are deeply saddened by
this incident,’ said San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee during the news
briefing.

Appearing before reporters later in the evening, Mayor Lee said: 'It is incredible and very lucky that we have so many survivors.'

Sixteen crew members were on board the craft.

Several passengers managed to escape unscathed and could be seen fleeing down emergency inflatable slides.

A U.S. Coast Guard team was also dispatched to search the nearby water.

It
wasn't immediately clear what happened to the plane as it was landing,
but some eyewitnesses said the aircraft seemed to lose control and that
the tail may have hit the ground.

A photo provided to CNN by Eunice
Bird Rah that was taken by her father, who was a passenger on the
crashed plane, showed flames and smoke shooting out of the aircraft's
windows.

Rah's father, Eugene, told his
daughter that he knew something was awry, saying that the pilot appeared
to try to raise the plane at the last minute.

Fatal crash: At least two people have been confirmed dead in the crash at San Francisco International Airport this morning, according to local reports

Landing: The plane failed to land safely and witnesses described watching the tail and then the wings being ripped off as it hurtled along the runway on its belly

Tail snapped: Onlookers said that the plane's tail snapped off when the plane crashed down near where the runway meets the water at the airport

In
a live interview with CNN at around 9pm, Ms Bird Rah said her father
was being vague about his condition when she last spoke to him several
hours ago, but he is believed to be fine.

‘It was all over in 10 seconds,’ said
passenger Vedpa Singh, who suffered a fractured collarbone in the crash
and had his arm in a sling. 'We heard a big bang, and it was over.'

Benjamin Levy, who was aboard the plane, also told theLos Angeles Times that the aircraft's final approach toward San Francisco Airport was too low.

Moments
before the crash landing, Levy said that he looked out the window and
spotted the piers in San Francisco Bay off the runway, and they appeared
too close.

'We were too
low, too soon,' he told the paper in a phone interview Saturday. 'He
[the pilot] was going down pretty fast, and I think he just realized he
was down too fast.'

First-hand account: Veddpal Singh, a passenger from the crashed Asiana Airlines who suffered a fractured collarbone in the crash and had his arm in a sling, said that he heard a loud bang, and it was all over

Medical care: As many as 182 passengers from Asiana Flight 214 were taken to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment

Frenzy: A woman (center), believed to be the mother of a victim an Asiana Airlines aircraft crash in San Francisco, is surrounded by members of the media in the lobby of the company's headquarters in Seoul

Long day: A woman reacts as a group of people are escorted from the Reflection Room at San Francisco International Airport

PR nightmare: Employees of Asiana Airlines talk on phones near a screen showing a news program reporting about Asiana Airlines Flight 214

Audio recordings of conversations between the airport's control tower and Flight 214 crew members suggested that those on the ground knew there was some sort of problem, promising that 'emergency vehicles are responding.'

'We have everyone on their way,' the air traffic controller said, according to LiveATC.net, a website that provides air traffic control audio, CNNreported.

However, when the plane ditched down near the water, no fire trucks were there to meet the flight, raising questions about the state of radio equipment aboard the Boeing 777.

Silver lining: Dave Johnson, FBI special agent in charge of the San Francisco Division, foreground, stated that there is no indication that terrorism played a role in the tragedy

A young passenger from the crashed Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 talks to the press at San Francisco International Airport before being interrupted by the police and escorted to a waiting room designated for families and friends of passengers

Charred remains: An airliner passes the wreckage of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 at San Francisco International Airport

Disaster area: This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214 airplane, right, after it crashed, as another plane approaches at the San Francisco International Airport

Stranded: Hermann Heider, from left, sits next to Alphonse Roig, wife Christine Roig, and their daughters Marine, 15, and Lara, 12, as they wait for news on their British Airways flight after Asiana Flight 214 crash

Waiting game: Bob Merberg, foreground, sits with son Oren, 19, center, and daughter Maya, 16, after their flight to Rochester, New York was canceled after Asiana Flight 214 crashed

NTSB officials have said that at this
point, it is too early to tell what exactly happened on board the
aircraft. Among the questions that the NTSB 'go team' will have to
answer is whether a human error on the part of the pilot played a part
in the crash.

President Barack Obama was notified of the deadly incident shortly after the plane crash landed, according to the White House press secretary.

Mr Obama thanked the first responders working on the scene and directed his team to stay in constant contact with officials as they investigate the crash.

'His thoughts and prayers go out to the families who lost a loved one and all those affected by the crash,' the press release posted on the White House site read.

A huge smoke cloud could be seen for
miles from the site of San Francisco International and tourists in the
airport terminal and on waiting flights could only look on in horror as
the plane spun across the runway on its belly.

Boeing 777's 'fantastic record' that includes one other crash 18 years ago

The crash of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 in San Francisco on Saturday is only the second major accident for the twin-engine, wide-bodied jet in the 18 years the model has been in service, aviation safety expert said.

The two accidents share a striking similarity - both occurred just about the time the planes were touching down to landing.

The previous accident occurred on Jan. 17, 2008, at London's Heathrow Airport. In the process of landing, British Airways Flight 28 from China landed hard about 1,000 feet short of the runway and then slid onto the runway.

The impact broke the 777-200's landing gear. There were 47 injuries, but no fatalities.

An investigation revealed ice pellets had formed in the fuel while the plane was flying at high altitudes, clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger. As a result, fuel was blocked from reaching both of the plane's engines. The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 series engines that were used on the plane were fixed afterward to prevent similar problems.

Safety improvements to planes in recent years - better fire-proofing of passenger cabins and reinforcements to fuel systems - may have prevented the San Francisco accident from becoming much worse.

Commonly referred to as the ‘Triple Seven,’ the 777 is a long-range jet designed primarily for extended flights over water. The plane that crashed in San Francisco was coming from Seoul, South Korea.

The 777 had its first flight in 1994 and was introduced into service in 1995. As of last month, Boeing had delivered more than 1,100 of the planes to airlines around the world.

During
a short news briefing in Washington DC just before 6pm, NTSB Chairwoman
Debbie Hersman said that three members of an investigative team would be
arriving on the scene of the crash later on Saturday evening to begin the
probe.

The official also said that the investigation into the crash will likely involve representatives from Boeing and South Korea.

FBI
Special Agent David Johnson, who is leading the investigation, said: 'At this point in time there is no indication of terrorism. We currently
have all our resources to assist.'

Onlookers said much of the tail came off
in the crash while others reported seeing the plane's fuselage spinning around as it traveled across the concourse.

The entire ceiling of the plane was destroyed in the blaze that immediately followed.

Emergency workers rushed to its aid and doused it with white foam to try and control the flames. They were able to help those who were miraculously able to escape the wreckage and were seen fleeing down emergency slides.

According to an excerpt of the radio recorded at the airport tower the plane was cleared to lane at 18.21, just over a minute later the flight called in and appears to have called for emergency assistance.

Witnesses spoke of their horror.

'The plane started coming in at an odd angle, there was a huge bang and you could see the cloud of huge black smoke,' Kate Belding, told the broadcaster.

'It was a horrible thud,' Kelly
Thompson, who saw it unfold from the parking lot of the Westin Hotel
added. 'The airliner bounced and then slid to a stop on the runway.'

'It
didn't manage to straighten out before hitting the runway,' Stephanie
Turner, who was in a nearby hotel and witnessed the flight told ABC
News. 'So the tail of the plane hit the runway, and it cartwheeled and
spun and the tail broke off...I mean we were sure that we had just seen a
lot of people die. It was awful.

'And it looked like the plane had completely broken apart,' she said. 'There were flames and smoke just billowing.'

One
witness Jennifer Sorgen said: 'It hit the end of the runway by the
water and the tail broke off at that point. It continued down the runway
on its belly then proceeded to make 360 spin.'

An
onlooker named Kristina Stapchuck told CNN it looked like the tires
split and the plane leaned back on the tail before the tail broke off.

Others described it as 'cartwheeling' across the runway.

One witness told CNN that there
didn't seem to be any preparations for a crash landing before the plane
came in suggesting it was an issue that only emerged on landing.

The
weather conditions were also described as ideal for San Francisco
airport which can often be blighted with fog and poor visibility.

Luckily no other standing planes were caught in the accident despite dozens waiting to take off from the major airport.

The
plane departed Incheon airport near South Korea's capital around 10
hours ago and was due to land at 9.45am on the West Coast.

All
flights in and out of San Francisco were temporarily cancelled with
several being diverted to nearby Oakland International. At 2.30pm PDT
the airport said it was looking to open two runways to allow limited
arrivals and departures.

Face CEO Sheryl Sandberg was supposed to be on the flight but decided to change her flight last minute so she could use air miles on a United flight instead, according to her post on Facebook.

'Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened. My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family's tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash.'

Crash landing: The plane pictured on the runway at San Francisco airport

Smoke cloud: Smoke from the plane crash could be seen for miles

David Eun, the executive vice president of Samsung, was on the flight when it crashed and posted on Twitter minutes later.

Asiana is a South Korean airline, second in size to national carrier Korean Air. It has recently tried to expand its presence in the United States, and joined the oneWorld alliance, anchored by American Airlines and British Airways.

The 777-200 is a long-range plane from Boeing. The twin-engine aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another. The airline's website says its 777s can carry between 246 to 300 passengers.

The last time a large U.S. airline lost a plane in a fatal crash was an American Airlines Airbus A300 taking off from JFK in 2001.

Smaller airlines have had crashes since then. The last fatal U.S. crash was a Continental Express flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y. on Feb. 12, 2009. The crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to San Francisco to probe the crash. NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Saturday that NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman would head the team.